


31 Days of Apex

by DargonWolfeh



Series: An Apex Story [9]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: 31 Days of Apex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:28:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 17,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25649551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DargonWolfeh/pseuds/DargonWolfeh
Summary: 31 days of Apex challenge except it all takes place over the course of a three day game.
Series: An Apex Story [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1528175
Comments: 5
Kudos: 28





	1. Memory

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I know I'm late. Very late. But I started this like two weeks ago and I already have 11 of the prompts done at the time of me making this note so for at least 11 days I'll be updating this consistently. Can't say much for after that.
> 
> For every prompt, I put everyone's name (as well as some oc's) in a random chooser and no matter who it was, had to write the prompt for that character. So some of these may seem a little forced. Because they are. I also randomized all the teams. I also also didn't bother rereading after finishing any of them so if there's typos and they bother you then let me know I'll fix em. Otherwise, I don't see a point in bothering tbh.
> 
> Doing this challenge to hopefully (and so far, successfully) get myself back into the writing spirit, as well as to blatantly show how MUCH I just make shit up as I write. I didn't bother looking ahead at any of the prompts so I'm really just doin this blind.
> 
> I literally have no idea where this story is gonna go so if you're lost at all then good, because so am I ;_;

Sometimes Revenant wished he never got his memories back.

Being some authority's trained dog was something that never really bothered him; he wouldn't have taken the hitman work in the first place if he thought otherwise. Killing for money and staying out of business that didn't concern him were his only two motives before he died- the first time. The second time he died was because of him poking his nose into business that he wasn't supposed to know about, because he was asking too many hard questions that Hammond Robotics reset his memories and lightly tweaked his personality (he's still not sure how they managed to accomplish that) so he'd stay nice and quiet for them. After that, his deaths were the same as when he died the first time.

Violently.

He's been smothered in his sleep; drowned, burned alive once. He's been in car accidents, been pushed off buildings, shot in the back, the front, in the face, in other less visible places.

Waking up from those experiences was pure bliss, because every time he woke up, his memories were wiped and he started fresh, like nothing ever happened.

Now, every waking moment of his existence was a nightmare.

He could remember everything. Every death. Every face he's killed. Every weapon he's used, every place he's been. He remembered everything down to the smallest details and he wished he just wouldn't.

He wished that fucking piece of glass from that elevator didn't fuck everything up. He wished he could wake up every morning thinking he was still alive, still human. He wished he could forget, to lose all his memories, to stop the pain he felt every day carrying 300 years of death and sorrow and emptiness with him everywhere he went.

"Trust me scrap metal, you don't want your memories back," Revenant had said to Pathfinder from their platform on the dropship, "Chances are you'll find out something you didn't wanna know."

"If it's something about myself, then I'm always wanting to know, friend!"

Revenant chose not to comment on being called his friend, again.

"You'd think your beloved creator would've made sure your memory drive stayed in tact," Revenant leered. Why'd he have to be so damn optimistic all the time? It was annoying, and, frankly, a little distracting, "Maybe he's trying to save you some trouble by keeping your AI just above a child's."

"Do you not like your memories, friend?" That face on his chest flicked over to a grey screen with question marks.

"We're not friends." Revenant dodged the question about as smoothly as he dodged Loba's bullet back at skulltown, but before the robot could pursue, their third teammate chimed in.

"Hey bruddah, don't go raining on his parade cause you don't got one, ha ha!" A heavy hand clapped on his back, and Revenant had half a mind to shove his own through man bun's chest as he came in to stand between them.

"Gibraltar don't wanna see no frowns on the battlefield, alright bruddah's? Negativity doesn't wins games."

"It does if you use it right," Revenant growled, but he didn't say anything more as the drop platforms began their descent.

Scorching hot air from King's Canyon pushed through the openings that gave way to the midday sun. Revenant, of course, couldn't feel it, but he caught a glimpse of the way the robot's chest lit up, like this was the most exciting day of his life, and he heard the way chuckles was breathing it in like he just walked out on his favorite beach.

The big guy... he was hiding something. Not something sinister no, just something. This place, King's Canyon, it meant something to him. Every time he looked over at that gaping hole where skulltown used to be, or more specifically, Thunderdome, he'd get this look on his face. Like it meant something to him.

Like the memory of it pained him.

"Hehe, today is gonna be our day!"

"The championship is ours!"

Revenant huffed, or made a sound that was the simulacrum equivalent of it.

Whatever memories the team had, Revenant didn't care. As long as they didn't get in his way, that's all that mattered.

That's all that ever matters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A LOT of my headcanons will be applying in this, so here's the overall link to all of my headcanons (which is constantly being updated as I write and develop things so feel free to keep looking back at them whenever to see if changes have been made)  
> https://sta.sh/2f8o037mllw?edit=1
> 
> BUT, before you read those, if you're not actually interested in reading ALL of them, I'll be putting the headcanons that are actually being applied in the end notes of every chapter, so those will be the only important things.


	2. Blood

Octane loved to get his blood pumping.

  
He liked being fast. He liked being in _danger_. He liked doing stunts at such perilous and inconvenient times, cutting it so close to death that he could flip him off right in his face as he skated by with hardly a scratch. For the most part.

  
He also loved landing at hot zones on his own if he deemed his team too boring.

  
"Catch ya later amigos!" Octane didn't even get a chance to hear what Crypto or Caustic had to say before he was off the jumping platform and speeding for repulsor like his life depended on it.

  
The moment he touched the ground he was off, zooming by maybe two or three other people and dashing into one of the big buildings with the heavy doors. There was another squad in there, one member of which who already found a gun. They turned on him, and in a frenzy, started shooting.

  
Without missing a beat Octane slid by a dashed off to the opening below that connected his building to the one across the way, shouting about how bad dude's aim was. One of the guys tried to chase, without so much as a weapon attachment, and Octavio almost laughed at the attempt.

  
By the time the guy that was chasing him touched the ground, Octane had made it to the other building, picked up a shield, three stacks of heavy ammo, and a _gold prowler. Perfecto._ He could already feel his blood pumping, his head rushing. He hadn't even used his stim yet, but he could already feel the high of battle coursing through his veins.  
Octane practically leaped back up to the ground floor once he reached the opening. This building was already looted, but over in the corner, just before the stairs, something purple glimmered from the shadows. Was that...?

A purple light mag?

  
_Next_ to an R-99?

  
Ohoho, nooo way. What were the odds? Who the hell just _left_ that there? Oh well, it was his now. He made a dash straight for it.

  
Not three steps later a bullet pierced through his thigh and rendered him immobile.

  
" _HIJO de-_ " Octane nearly flipped over from the speed he was going, and only had a second to shoot his hand out and catch himself before completely hitting the ground. The prowler accidentally let out a burst when it clattered against the ground, causing it to slide a good distance out of reach. His other hand clutched at the bullet wound, which was already beginning to spill blood. "THAT HURT!"

  
" _Surprise._ "

  
_Mierda._

  
Octane didn't even have to look up to see who had shot him, but he did anyway, and right there, on the second floor across from where he was at, she was standing, smirking all smug and shit like she won the fight or something.

  
"I didn't think you'd actually fall for that, but you're always surprising everyone, aren't you?" Wraith taunted, tipping her longbow down so she could look at him completely.

  
"That was a low move and you know it!"

  
Wraith shrugged.

  
"You're only saying that because you got hit."

  
"I bet you're too chicken to come down here and actually take me on, _chica!_ " He yelled up to her, fighting down the urge to wince when he tried to move his leg. Yeeaah, that was gonna be a problem.

  
She actually seemed to consider taking his threat, even if it was for a moment. She instead pushed off the railing she was leaning on, and Octane _swore_ her entire body swayed with absolute, shit-eating _mockery_ that it actually almost got on his nerves.

  
"You're right," She said, holstering her gun on her back, "I am."

  
Her eyes glowed as she opened her hand, the one with the cool phasing stuff on it, then nodded toward the opening he had come out of.

  
"But they're not."

  
Her fist closed and she disappeared in a flash of light, and Octane could see the shimmery trails of what he assumed was her going up to the roof.

  
The moment she disappeared, the guys from that other team finally crawled out after him, this time all _three_ of them carrying some weapon. One of them grew wicked smile.

  
"Guess someone with better aim got to you first."

  
_Mierda, **mierda.**_

  
This was not the kind of adrenaline Octane hoped would be pumping through his veins right now.

  
Welp, maybe death won't be in his rear view mirror today.

  
Or so he thought, until something metal clinked against the ground just behind the other squad. One of them turned back to investigate.

  
"Oh _FUCK._ "

  
"What-?"

  
Faster than even Octane could comprehend, whatever hit the ground unhinged, and in moments his vision, not to mention his other senses, were filled with sickly green noxious gas.

  
Damn, was this what it felt like to be _slow?_ Octane never ran into Caustic's gas. Like, ever. He was either too fast or too smart to fall for his traps. Geez, no wonder Che never hung out after games with him. He wasn't even _in_ the gas and he almost felt like passing out.

  
"The idiot's on the first floor. By the stairs." Ouch, he didn't have to call him an idiot. Then again, this went way worse than it was supposed to.

  
"You are fortunate we deemed you more useful to us alive rather than leave you be," Caustic's gruff voice came from behind him, and a second later, a hand grabbed him from the back and dragged further away from the gas.

  
"Aww, are you saying you really do care? I guess Nat's got you convinced I'm not so bad after all," If Octane wasn't wearing his mask, the big guy would've totally noticed the smug, tongue-flashing smile he was giving him.

  
But he _was_ wearing his mask, so Caustic just dragged him out of the building and dropped him off just behind one of those tanks not far from the entrance. Crypto was there too, leaning back against the tank while fiddling with his weird looking controller thing for his drone. He didn't even look in his direction.

"Have you finished 'getting your blood pumping?'"

  
Octavio chuckled darkly.

  
"Not even close _amigo_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was super fun for me to write because last time I wrote anything for Octane was like... in Dirty Talks I think and that wasn't even from his point of view. I need to write for him more.
> 
> No specific headcanons for this chapter either, outside of the fact that I feel like Octane and Wraith have it out for each other half the time. This time, Wraith had the high ground. Literally.


	3. Mercy

"Having mercy is gonna get you killed one day,"

Pathfinder looked at Revenant.

"What do you mean, friend?"

Revenant snatched Pathfinder's gun, a sentinel he had found in one of the rooms at The Market, and peered through the scope.

"I mean that you can't go leaving skinsuits unchecked just because you don't wanna finish em off."

Revenant pulled the trigger, and the legend Pathfinder had knocked, who was attempting to crawl off the roof on the opposite side of the building, fell to the ground without so much as a sound. Revenant shoved the gun back into his arms.

"And I'm not your friend."

When Revenant walked off, Pathfinder followed close behind. He didn't mind that he was taking most of the loot, Pathfinder already had a shield anyway! All he really needed was a little ammo. Revenant didn't even have a gun yet.

"My friends say I should try being nicer in the ring if I want to make more friends!"

"You mean your skinsuit buddies?" Revenant pulled a gun off of the man's body, a Wingman, cocking and examining the fancy looking skin before holstering it, "They're lying."

"What would you suggest, friend?"

"I _suggest_ you don't even bother," Revenant gave him an incredulous look, "You think skinsuits are gonna like you just because you don't finish em off? You're an even bigger fool than I took you for."

"Also, quit callin me your friend."

"Alright, brother!"

"Ugh, nevermind."

Revenant shouldered past Pathfinder not so gently, huffing in his usual annoyed state. In fact, Pathfinder wasn't sure if he ever actually even _saw_ Revenant in a good mood, unless he was killing someone or enjoying the company of Loba. Based on the way she acted around him, though, Pathfinder doubted they were best friends like he claimed.

Normally, Pathfinder would take this chance to try and talk to Revenant some more. He may have acted like he didn't like him, just like Mirage did, but Pathfinder knew they could be great friends!

But something was shuffling up the stairs just a few meters away.

"Heads up bruddahs," Gibraltar's voice came through their transmitters. He was down at the houses in front of The Market, "There's some empty rooms here, and Gibraltar didn't loot em!"

That was when a head popped up over the ledge, and the face on it smiled upon recognizing him.

"Hiya Path!" Technocrat greeted cheerfully. "Long time no see! Mind if I get my friend there?"

"Hi friend!" Pathfinder's chest lit up green with excitement, then switched to his signature smile as he waved enthusiastically, "I'm afraid I can't let you do that!"

"Oh I know, that was rhetorical." She adjusted her glasses, "Don't hate me for this."

Pathfinder wasn't sure what exactly she meant by that, but based on the way she tossed a frag grenade right at his feet, he figured that was what she meant.

"MOVE." Pathfinder was shoved to the side so quickly that he probably wouldn't have known who had pushed him if he had human-like sensory receptors, but he didn't, so he was fully aware it was Revenant, just like how he was fully aware of the way Technocrat was making a run for her teammate.

The grenade exploded just as the side of his body collided with the ground, and Pathfinder could hear the way Revenant growled, probably because some of the shrapnel managed to hit him. Pathfinder was quick to get back on his feet, having felt nothing at all but the few pieces of metal that lodged into his other side.

Seeing Revenant confirmed his previous thought. It seemed as though he took most of the damage- His entire right arm was blackened and sparking around his elbow when he pulled it from its position as a shield from his face. Half of his face and body was damaged, a small stream of smoke was even rising out of his eye socket despite it glowing a little brighter and angrier looking.

Technocrat made it to her teammate's body before she noticed him, and she froze for a moment when she recognized who he was.

"Oh SHIT! Massive compromise, I need you here NOW!" She yelled into her transmitter as she made a run for it, but Revenant stomped toward her, pulling out an arc star he had taken off of her teammate's body and hurling it right at her back.

She screeched when it dug into her just below her arm, and her entire body tensed up from its electrical contact. Moments later, her movements were restricted entirely when it exploded and her face hit the ground hard enough to make her bleed.

Hard enough for Pathfinder to hear something snap.

"F-FUCK!" With only one of her arms working, Technocrat tried to push herself up in order to make it the short distance back to the stairs, but Revenant had already caught up to her in a few easy strides.

"Nice try, girlie," He grabbed her by the back of her head and shoved her face into the ground, almost rubbing the most likely bruised and scraped skin against the rough surface, "I'll make you regret getting on my nerves."

"Wait-" She tried to squirm, her eyes darting frantically around for an escape route, before they landed on Pathfinder. She looked frightened. Her breathing grew heavy, and fast, and her working arm scrambled to do something to try and help her get away, "P-please don't kill me."

"Should've thought about that before getting in my way, _skinsuit_." He gripped her head tighter to add stress, and she let out a sound. A whimper? A small sob? A tear ran down her face.

Revenant's other hand, despite being charred and sparking, pulled back and sharpened into a blade. Technocrat's eyes widened and she let out a scream, trying to squirm away but the arc star's effects, as well as Revenant's simulacrum strength, prevented her from moving.

So Pathfinder grabbed his wrist instead.

The reaction was immediate. Revenant yanked his arm out of his hand and nearly stabbed it through him instead.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"She's a friend! We can't kill her! Not permanently at least!" If Revenant had a screen like him, Pathfinder was sure it would have turned into something much more sinister looking than his current face.

"A friend? A _FRIEND_?" A small internal explosion must have happened, because more smoke crept out of his damaged eye. "Well your _friend_ just threw a frag grenade at you, AND called for backup, so unless you want this to get messy I suggest you-"

Revenant stopped to look down when a thin beam of light locked onto his chest from somewhere far away, and it made a sound like something was charging up.

"Son of a bitch."

The power of the blast from the charge rifle completely knocked him off of Technocrat and onto his back. With his weight now off of her, she was able to push herself forward with her working arm, struggling against the remaining effects of the arc star and not even bothering to look back and see if Pathfinder was going to follow her or finish her off.

He didn't, because she looked terrified, and Pathfinder didn't want to make it worse, because she was his friend. Technocrat was able to get on her feet and get away, only glancing back to glimpse at Pathfinder, before leaping over the railing and disappearing over the ledge.

"You're a damn fool, scrap metal," Revenant snarled when Pathfinder went to patch and pick him up. His face, unmoving as ever, almost seemed as if it wasn't focused on himself.

For once, Pathfinder didn't respond.

He didn't have a response.

He was probably right.

"That mercy of yours is gonna get you killed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Revenant and Pathfinder's interactions are so fucking funny, mainly because they're so damn short and half the time I hear them is while we're looting so I can hear the sheer amount of over it in Revenant's voice. So I wanted to portray how I think those interactoins go a little here.
> 
> Also, if you'd like to know a little more about Technocrat (which at the moment doesn't matter too much, but later a liiiiittle more so, here's a link to her: https://www.deviantart.com/dragonwolfy13/art/Technocrat-837484812
> 
> \- I have this headcanon where I try to intertwine the fact that there's enough danger in the games for people to actually die, but not enough to where peeps can goof around here. So, I imagine certain things can and will kill you while other things won't immediately kill you.
> 
> Ex: Taking a bunch of bullets can kill you if you don't have a shield, but if you do, you'll just feel em before you die, but then you get respawned good as new. Getting stabbed, on the other hand, is very iffy, and more often than not results in actual death (hence why Techno freaked out there). I go more into detail in my headcanon sheet but this is all that's important for now.


	4. Prize

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a little short, sorry. I'd do a double upload but I wanna try to stick to daily uploads and I don't wanna jump the gun.

Mirage wasn't expecting the random to ask him how he spent his prize money.

"What?" He asked, eyes wide. The question caught him completely off guard.

"The prize money. Top ten always gets at least a little depending on placement, and that's still a lot. You've won a few games, so what do you do with you guys' money?"

The team had just finished looting Containment. Since no one else seemed interested in landing around there, they had decided to take their time, casually chatting and getting to know each other. Lifeline had finished long before them, already having found a couple of weapons she liked, so she was hanging out on top of one of the empty flyer cages nearby, keeping a general lookout for enemies.

"I send all of my prize money straight to the Frontier Corps," She said casually, like it was the simplest thing in the world. Mirage and the random, sorry, Ranger? Was that his alias? They both gawked at her, open mouthed.

"ALL of it? Like, every penny!?" Mirage knew she was a part of the Frontier Corps and definitely sent some of it to them, but he wasn't expecting to hear _that_.

"Well, not _all_ of it, gotta eat y'know?" She pulled at one of her gloves awkwardly, "I also set a little to the side just to save, n'case I can't be in the games no more."

"Wow," Ranger said, exasperated, "When they said you had a heart o' gold I thought they were just exaggeratin. No wonder they used you for the angel in the promos. ***** "

"I just want to make the world a better place," Lifeline shrugged, then looked down at him, "What about you?"

"Aw gee," He scratched the back his head, "I was plannin on gettin a nice house somewhere back home with some land, like a ranch? Always wanted to have a family on one."

"A family man, I see. Got someone waiting for you at home?" Mirage asked.

"Nah, but I figured having my face on a big screen would attract someone nice enough. Any of y'all got any light ammo?"

"Speaking from experience I can tell you that you'll definitely attract some attention if you get a high ranking," Mirage fished around in his bag for the extra brick of ammo he had found not too long ago. He didn't really need much for his G-7 anyway.

"Yeah, take it from a legend, don't just fall for someone just cause they saw your face on a poster," Lifeline tossed down an extra brick of ammo she had as well. Ranger caught it, then took the one Mirage handed him.

"Thank you kindly," He proceeded to reload his gun, "How about you Mr. Holographic Trickster? How do you spend your prize money at home?"

"Me?" Mirage casually leaned against the cage Lifeline was sitting on, "Mostly to pay bills and stuff, maybe even upgrade the bar a little."

"That's it? I figured you'd be the type to spend it on like... parties or something."

"Parties?" Mirage actually laughed, "Is that what people think?"

"Witt's more likely to _be_ the party than to spend money on one."

"Okay okay I get that," Ranger held up his hands, "But is that it? You've gotta be using it for something else? Why'd you join the games?"

"Easy- Fame and more fame," He clicked his tongue and shot a finger gun in his direction, "The money's just a nice bonus."

Ranger chuckled at the response as the team finally packed up and made their way out of Containment. Mirage was glad he didn't press any further. They never really did when he said that. Typical Mirage, right? Of course he wanted to be the center of attention. Publicity, fortunes, lots of nice girls showing up at his bar, what more could he want?

He shot a wide grin over at Lifeline, who smiled back, but with much less teeth showing. In fact, it was more of a half-hearted, close lipped smile that barely even reached her eyes.

She knew where his prize money was actually going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Promos are essentially advertisements for the apex games where the legends dress up in cool outfits and are the poster child for apex. AKA, the limited edition copies.
> 
> Also, Ranger is yet another oc of mine. I don't have anything really solid for him yet, but his passive ability is called Dual Wielder, which allows him to use two guns at once as long as they're the same one. Especially useful for pistols. Also, he's supposed to look like a heavy metal cowboy of sorts... except something a little more fitting for a bloodsport.


	5. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was inspired slightly by shortythescreen's version of Bloodhound from [Things That Have Been](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23450836%5D), where Bloodhound's got this sort of childish, playful kinda personality. If you love Bloodhound, please go check it out. And the rest of The Love of Bloth Hundr series too while you're at it. They're beautiful ;u;

Bloodhound treasured their family deeply.

The family they lost when they were a child held a very dear place in their heart. Loved and never forgotten, but they never let the pain of the last time they saw them darken their memories or their heart. Uncle Artur, despite his spurning of modern technology and general distaste toward Bloodhound's antics as a child, meant the world to them as their caregiver and near father-figure. Even his raven, who they named in his memory, was a special member of Bloodhound's family.

In the ring, even if it was only for a few days, their squad was their family as well.

"You should not have attempted to retrieve his banner on your own. He could have killed you."

After their fiasco at The Market, Bloodhound and Technocrat managed to slip away and hide somewhere South-East of Salvage. There was a bunker there, accessible by a hatch, where they decided they would take cover for the next few hours until the ring closed. They were examining the damage done to her arm, which thankfully did not seem to be anything a few syringes and some time wouldn't heal.

"Yeah I got to experience that first hand," Technocrat flinched when Bloodhound pulled her arm out a little further, and they tenderly let her pull it back to a more comfortable position.

"Your arm appears to be broken, but resetting it should not prove problematic."

" _Reset_ it?" Technocrat pulled her arm away, which caused her to hiss from her own sudden movement, but she still gave Bloodhound an incredulous look.

"I am _not_ about to have my arm rebroken."

"Do you wish to go the next few days with a broken arm?"

"Can't, like, the syringes do anything?" She snatched the Medkit that was one the ground beside her and held it up before them. "Or this? I saw a guy's face get totally blown off and this repaired the skin like it was new- minus his eyes. And most of his hair, and his nose... and mouth..."

"The medical supplies provided to us through the games are designed to expedite the healing process, not necessarily to heal us by themselves," Bloodhound took the medkit and placed it back on the ground next to her feet, and gently took hold of her arm again, "If we attempt to use it before resetting your arm, it is likely you will lose the ability to use it. Permanently."

"Damn, for real? That would explain a lot."

Technocrat looked like she would need more convincing if Bloodhound wanted to try to help her.

"Broken limbs do not occur frequently for you, I imagine."

She did not respond immediately, at first only shifting her eyes away and scratching at an area of her arm where the arc star burned away the fabric of her jacket and irritated the skin.

"I'm more of an indirect conflict starter," Bloodhound raised an eyebrow at the response, then realized she couldn't see their face.

"You like starting trouble but not being involved?" She pointed at them.

"Bingo. This was an exception though, I thought I'd be able to make it."

"I admire your fighting spirit, _felagi_ , but we must tread carefully until we are able to return our third member. Here, bite into this." Bloodhound held a balled up piece of cloth to her mouth, which she eyed suspiciously at first, "It will hurt for only a moment."

"What if we used a syringe _while_ resetting my arm? So at least I won't feel it?"

"The syringes are designed to heal physical wounds in seconds. I would need to break your arm again just to reset it."

"Ugh," She finally gave in, taking the cloth with her working hand and biting into it. As she was doing that, Bloodhound looked to Artur, who sat perched just on her side, lightly crooning in her direction. They stroked a gloved finger just below his beak to gain his attention.

"Keep a lookout. It is likely someone will see we have entered here."

The raven cawed lowly, ruffling his feathers before taking off noisily. Technocrat watched him fly off as Bloodhound readjusted them self, taking a better hold on the area of her forearm where the bones didn't quite line up.

"I will count to three. Prepare yourself," Her eyes grew nervous before she closed them and turned away, attempting to relax her arm despite how rigid the rest of her body became.

" _Einn_ ," Their grip on her tightened, and she took a sharp inhale.

" _Tvö_ ," She let out a small whimper, but her body remained still.

" _þrjú_!" They snapped her arm into place almost effortlessly. The cloth muffled the screech that tried to escape, but her teeth clenched to hold the sound in. When she tried to flinch away, Bloodhound held her firmly with one hand, using the other to take the medkit and inject the syringe in her arm.

"There, see?" They finally let go of her arm, leaving her to take the syringe and continue holding it there, "Your arm should be fully healed in less than an hour with rest. We will wait until then to relocate to Salvage."

She spit out the cloth ball.

"Y'know, you're much more caring of your teammates than I took you for,"

"Oh? Caring for teammates is an important part of staying alive during matches. I would do nothing less to ensure our survival."

"Yeah but usually teammates just let each other handle whatever they've got going for themselves."

"I am not as careless as other teammates." Technocrat pulled the syringe out and tossed it to the side, flexing the fingers from her once broken arm.

"Something tells me you like to treat squad members like a little more than just teammates."

"You cannot prove that."

Artur flew back in then, and for a moment Bloodhound thought there was trouble. But the raven flew over to Technocrat, settling down just on her knee and flitting his wings, cocking his head to each side and crooning as he lightly pecked at her thigh. She held out her hand to him, letting him drop the small object, a beautiful blue stone that almost looked like a gem, into her palm.

"Thank you Artur," She held up the stone to examine it. She glanced over at Bloodhound, then shifted the stone so that she was holding it between two fingers to let them see, as if it were the most solid piece of evidence in the world, "He thinks otherwise."

"Artur does not speak for me," Bloodhound held their arm out, and upon seeing them, Artur cawed and flapped over to them, settling on their forearm and beginning to preen himself.

She did not respond, but the look she gave them was one Bloodhound recognized.

It was a look of knowing.

Just like Uncle Artur's back when Bloodhound was a child.

"Come, _felagi_ , we cannot linger for too long. I will carry your things- I would not want to risk my teammate overexerting herself."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- So I headcanon that Artur, like any raven, will bring gifts back to those he likes, and at this point in An Apex Story, Artur has taken a liking to Techno. She's been around a lil bit.  
> \- I imagine Bloodhound's playful, kiddish personality kinda edged away when they grew up, but it likes to peek through occasionally. Primarily in denial phases.  
> \- As you can guess, Bloodhound's counting in Icelandic there, and after a solid ten minutes of trying to figure out how to make a capital version þ, I gave up. I looked up how to pronounce the numbers and I found it interesting that they're pronounced the same as in English, with an extra bit of accent. Try looking it up yourself if you don't believe me.


	6. Noise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO DID YOU GUYS SEE THE SEASON 6 TRAILER. I'm super excited for Rampart, I can't WAIT to see what her kill quips are gonna be. I hope they'll be disrespectful af. Anyway, here's today's chapter.
> 
> Also please don't hate me. Bangalore gives me asshole vibes and that's why I love her.

Wraith was used to background noise.

The voices rarely left her alone, especially during games. Usually they just told her little things, like if someone was about to walk in the room. Other times, it was to warn her.  _Danger, move! There's a sniper. Someone's watching you._ Short and sweet, to the point, and usually, only one warning at a time.

Then, there were times when all of them spoke at once.

_You're in a hot zone._

_Traps!_

_You're being aimed at!_

_You're not alone!_

_Others died here._

_Move!_

Moments like these always came out of nowhere, and there was never much she could do to get away from them. After leaving Octane to the mercy of the other team, she waited a bit to go scavenge what was left there, assuming they would have left for better loot somewhere else by then.

Instead, she walked right into a bloodbath.

There were bodies everywhere, some of them barely even recognizable from the way their skin looked like acid melted it off. Remnants of noxious gas still lingered in the area, and breathing it in nearly made her nauseous. Octane was nowhere to be found, and neither was Caustic (Wraith assumed it was Caustic's gas), and by the looks of it, there were members from at least three different teams in there.

_Move, now!_

_Get out of there!_

_They're still alive!_

"Shut UP!" Wraith couldn't focus. She couldn't think, not with the gas making her sick and the voices already beginning to give her a raging headache. She couldn't even hear when something shifted by her feet, and took hold of her ankle.

Wraith nearly screamed when she looked down, seeing nothing but what should've been a melted, unmoving corpse, was a very much alive, ghastly looking person- although they looked less like a person and more like an all too realistic Halloween prop. The smell of him reached her nostrils, and she nearly got sick from- mostly due to the painful memories they brought back of her first match on Talos.

It was his voice that set her off the most though.

"Please..." He breathed, his voice sounding like he swallowed a thermite and survived.

"Please, help me... please..." Despite the weakness in his movements, he had an iron grip on her. She weakly tried to pull it out, but he didn't budge.

_What are you doing?_

_Get out of there!_

_He's aiming at you!_

Wraith was frozen in place. The sight of the man gripping her ankle, her senses overwhelmed by the gas and the bodies, and now she was vaguely aware of the shooting outside. Where did they all come from?

And the  _voices_ . They wouldn't stop. She couldn't focus. She couldn't hear. Was her vision going black? She had to snap out of it, but she just couldn't. What's happening to her?

"MOVE it soldier!" Wraith was shoved to the ground just before a bullet whizzed by. It was heavy sounding. A sniper.

Another bullet sounded, this one much lighter, and the tension around her ankle loosened instantly. She was hauled to her feet, then shoved forward, but the action was so quick she almost fell over again.

"NOW! MOVE. NOW. Quit acting like an FNG!" She was shoved forward again, and this time Wraith was able to will herself forward as Bangalore sprayed bullets at whoever tried to snipe her.

Wraith managed to shuffle to the back exit, the one that opened in the direction of Swamps, before needing to lean against the wall and hold her head in one of her hands.

_You're not safe._

_Keep moving._

_She's coming out, brace yourself._

Stop. Stop! _Stop_!

"STOP!" Both of her hands clutched at her head, clawing into her hair and digging as deep as her gloved fingers would allow. Her jaw clenched so tight her teeth started to scrape, she shut her eyes to try and shut out the voices, but she couldn't. Why was this happening now? RIGHT now? Her head was starting to throb and her legs were beginning to have a hard time holding her up. The shooting and shouting from inside wasn't any help either.

"Wraith?" A gentle hand touched her arm, and almost instantly, the voices vanishes. Well, they didn't vanish, but they sort of just faded to more of a background noise.

"Are you alright  _mon ami_? " Wattson reassuringly squeezed her arm, offering her a small smile when she looked over at her.

"Sorry, I'm," Wraith let one of her hands slide down the side of her face, "Yeah I'm fine. I'm fine now. It was-"

"Your voices?"

"Yeah..."

The heavy pair of doors slamming to a shut startled both of them, prompting them to look over at a very angry Bangalore making her way toward them.

"What the  _fuck_ was that, soldier?" She took hold of Wraith's arm, the total opposite of Wattson's reassuring touch, and Wraith was suddenly painfully aware of how many inches she had on her. "Wandering in the middle of a battlefield and standing there asking to get shot."

"I'm not your damn soldier," Wraith yanked her arm away, "And I wasn't wandering, I told you where I was going."

"And I'm not your mother," Bangalore took a step closer, uncomfortably close, making Wraith feel the need to let one of her hands drop to where her kunai was sheathed, "But here I am saving your sorry ass from nearly getting shot by that drone asshole."

"I didn't need you saving me."

"Lies don't fly well with me eyebags."

" _Eyebags-?_ " Wraith didn't think it was possible for her to get enraged by a single word as easily as she did with Octane.

"Listen,  _sergeant_. "

Wraith didn't know where that came from, but Bangalore  _definitely_ didn't like that. Her eyes narrowed dangerously down at her, daring Wraith to try her.

"Don't think you can go calling me whatever you want just because you think you're some higher rank than me."

"Can't take an insult, sparkles?"

Wraith's eyes glowed dangerously.

_Kill her._

What? No!

"Stop!" Wattson pushed between the two of them, effectively separating and shoving them out of each other's personal space.

"Anita, Wraith, please! Do not fight, we have a game to win. Quarreling will not help us get there!" Wattson actually looked incredibly uncomfortable, and it just now occurred to Wraith how shamelessly they were about to tear into each other.

Again.

She glared up at Bangalore. Wattson was right, there was no way they were going to win the game fighting like this. But still, that look she gave her still got under her skin.

We're not done here.

Bangalore stormed off, saying they needed to head to Hydro Dam before another team got the same idea.

_She hates you._

_Be patient._

_Don't bring her back._

_She'd rather lose than bite a bullet for you._

Well, the feeling was mutual.

Wraith wished the noise the voices made would just stay in the background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I 100% imagine that Wraith and Bangalore almost literally CANNOT stand each other. Like, they just freaking HATE each other and team morale with them most likely sucks.
> 
> \- I also imagine Bangalore isn't above hitting low balls, if the loading screens from season five gave me anything to go off of. She was literally calling Loba anything BUT her name and I couldn't stop laughing, like I know I shouldn't have but imagining her actually saying that was really fucking funny.


	7. Mask

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now might be a good time to mention that this takes place shortly after The Broken Ghost.

Everyone who joined the Apex Games hid their true self behind a mask.

The games were home to many criminals and runaways, many of whom would coincidentally disappear the moment their true identities were revealed to the public.

Caustic made every effort to keep his true identity as covert as possible.

"You guys are so boring. If we're gonna sit here and do nothing then can we at least talk about something?"

"If you insist on moving so much then go run to the Map Room and back.  _Jugji ma._ "

"Got it. Have fun being  _boring!_ "

Green flashed out of the corner of Caustic's eye, and Octane was gone before either of them could blink.

They were left in silence, hidden behind a wall of sandbags and watching the building across the way where the recent massacre ended for any possible survivors. Caustic had made sure to check the corpses for any signs of life before leaving, but Crypto insisted they wait while he searched the perimeter with his drone.

Caustic couldn't help but notice him occasionally cast an unsavory glance in his direction.

"Do you wish to say something?"

" _Ani._ No."

More silence. One of those flyers screeched in the distance. Crypto pretended to act more interested in it than him.

"You are not the first idiot to attempt to frame me."

"I thought you had nothing you wished to say."

Crypto closed his controller device, and the screen in front of his face disappeared, allowing Caustic to see his look of disdain.

"Whatever you are hiding, I can figure out easily." His hands went in his pockets, trying to look placid. His poker face was convincing.

But Caustic knew what hidden rage looked like.

"And what do you intend to do with that information when you figure it out?" If he thought intimidating him with authorities would scare him, then that hacker was in for a nasty surprise.

"I will tell Natalie."

THAT, was a nastier surprise.

"She already knows."

"Oh?" Crypto readjusted his footing, a menacing smile Caustic didn't quite like growing on his face, "Should I ask her then? She never said anything about your legal issues Loba mentioned in the bar."

This was going nowhere.

"What do you want? An apology? Don't hold your breath. Or perhaps I should give you a reason to." Caustic glared at him, but the menacing look turned to something more smug. He knew he'd won that fight.

"I want a truce. You do not meddle with my work, and I turn a blind eye to whatever you may be hiding," He hesitated, then continued, unsure, "Even if it could potentially be harmful."

"I do not trust you with Ms. Paquette." His unsure look now became more of a placid glare.

"The feeling is mutual,  _noin._ " (Old man)

They stared for a while, almost missing when their transmitters switched on, indicating their third member was about to speak.

"Yo,  _compadres_ _,_ quit whatever you're doing and check  _this_ out! Remember that first bunker we saw over at Salvage?"

" _Ne._ " Crypto responded for the both of them, not looking away from Caustic.

"Well there's maybe three more of em open over by Repulsor and Slum Lakes. If we're quick enough I bet we'd find something interesting- well, if  _you're_ quick enough. I'm definitely quick enough."

"The contents of those bunkers could be a deciding variable in this match."

"It could take hours to get there, even if we are quick."

"Then I guess you'll just have to be quicker," Octane laughed, "Two against one  _amigo!_ Let's go! Hurry up so I don't have to wait for you slowpokes!"

Octane's transmitter cut back off, leaving Caustic with a rather sour looking hacker staring him down. He continued staring as Caustic holstered his mastiff on his back and began his trek off the building they were on.

"I do not care whether you trust me or not, but know this, _hacker,_ " Caustic looked back at him, "I'll be watching you. Just because Ms. Paquette is fond of you does not mean she will be forever."

Crypto gave him a crooked, almost sinister looking half smile.

" _Dangsin man algo issdamyeon._ "

Crypto was going to be a problem. If Caustic wanted to keep wearing his mask, he was going to have to get Crypto out of the picture.

Whether it was by it was by taking away his mask, or his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was first making teams, I was a little upset at this one, because I was sure that anything involving them would be really boring and I'd only really be interested in writing for Octane, but then coincidentally, I landed on Caustic for this chapter, and the words kinda just flowed out after that. This team is gonna be very interesting to work with.
> 
> Also, a brief mention, but everyone who knows me knows that I ship Crypto and Wattson, and they're a thing in this fic, but I'm trying really really hard to keep my ships out of this for the most part. I want the story and prompts to be more of the focus than anything. That doesn't mean I won't allude to it occasionally though :)


	8. Healing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping to land on Lifeline for this one, but I tried to make this one work out.

Some scars never truly healed.

Loba's known this since she was 9, when she watched that  _demonio_ rip her parents apart right before her eyes. It didn't matter how many foster families she went through, how well they tried to erase her memories.

You can heal scars, but they never go away.

"So you like dogs?" The question came out of nowhere, and it actually managed to catch Loba off guard.

Then again, Loba was having a hard time keeping her hands to herself. It wasn't her fault, he wouldn't stop rubbing up against her, begging her with the sweetest eyes she had ever seen.

K9's german shepherd was more like a living teddy bear than a police dog.

"Hm?"

"Loba's Spanish for wolf or somethin, right? You pick that name 'cause you like dogs? You even got a wolf on that staff of yours there."

Loba smiled, small, but genuine. Almost genuine at least.

"No- well, yes, but no. My papai named me Loba." She scratched under Gunner's chin, and he practically melted in her hands.

"Oh, that's your birth name? So you liking animals is just a nice bonus."

"Yes, I find them much better companions than most people- and robots."

"Amen to that sis."

Loba liked this legend. She knew what did and didn't fly with her, and she knew when to ask questions and when to mind her own business.

That other guy though... Loba didn't like him as much.

"You ladies sound like you could use a real nice man in your life." Loba and K9 rolled their eyes in unison at their third teammate's butting in. The big guy hadn't really made an effort to be friendly, outside of terribly uncomfortable attempts at flirting that even  _Loba_ didn't quite know how to handle.

"You mean like you?"

"I wasn't  _suggesting_ me but, y'know, offer's on the table."

Ugh.

She decided to just ignore him, for the most part, finding herself much more comfortable around K9's sweet dog, who had opted to roll over on his back for belly rubs.

"Look at him, acting like a damn house pet. I've seen cats that are better guard dogs than him." K9 had glanced over at them from her post at the window, where she was keeping an eye on the area around Hillside for any potential threats.

"Oh, it's not his fault," Loba scratched up his neck and behind his ears, loving him there for a couple of seconds before rubbing at his head and finally pulling her hands away, "Men always find me distracting."

Gunner let out a whine at the loss of contact, then barked once in annoyance.

"Hey! Manners, you fuckin mutt! You're lucky she gave you attention at all." Gunner quickly rolled on all fours and shook himself, then barked again at K9.

"Play time's over boy, go do some rounds," She made a motion with her free hand, pointing a finger up and circling around, "And for the love of God stop getting distracted."

Gunner barked again, less annoyed this time, and trotted out of the building (not going out of his way to walk over their third, who had been leaning against some crate not far from the door).

"Does he understand you?"

"Nah, damn dog's dumber than rocks- but he's a good listener." She smiled, "He's always been a ladies man. He knows he's good lookin."

"Yes his charms are quite hard to resist."

Loba has always adored dogs. Her parents had promised her a puppy when she was young, but with their constantly moving lifestyle, as well as their hidden criminal activities, getting one was more than difficult. So they promised her that when she turned ten, when they deemed her old enough to start caring for one on her own, they'd finally get her one.

The memory still pains her.

"I'm looting over there," Loba pulled open her mini map and marked the buildings just on top of Hillside, right on the border of The Farm, "Don't worry, I'll share what I find."

"I'd sure hope so," Their third said, eyeing Loba shamelessly as she walked by. She swore she saw his tongue dart out to lick his lips, "Do me a favor and let me know if you see any hammer point rounds, sweetheart."

"Sure thing,  _horripilante._ "*

"Oooh, what does that mean?"

"It means  _stop staring at my ass,_ before I gouge your eyes out."

The guy just laughed at her threat, which got on her nerves, but she just shut the door behind her and walked on. First chance she got she was leaving him for dead.

No one had landed with them there, which meant they had the whole area to themselves, for now. Loba had managed to pick up a couple of pistols, a P2020 and an RE45, but she needed something a little more than that if she wanted to make it far at all in this game.

She ziplined up, landing easily at the top and making her way up the grassy hill. Without that overgrown ogling her every move, she felt she could relax now, just a little, and let her mind wander.

Wander back to the letter her mother wrote for her before she was even born.

She hadn't seen it until after they were murdered, when her home at the time was being cleaned out and the memory of her mother lying dead on the floor was still fresh in her memory.

She had cried. A lot. That letter was one of her dearest treasures, and rereading it, no matter how painful, helped her cope with missing them.

But reading it again and again can never heal the pain. It can never fix what was broken.

Gunner nosed at her thigh from behind and nearly startled her, but then she turned and he excitedly wagged his tail and barked.

"Shouldn't you be keeping a lookout, boy?" Loba crouched to his level and scratched behind his ear, "I'd hate to get you in trouble."

His tongue rolled out of his mouth as the dopiest looking smile spread across his face.

"Awww, tell you what, I'll give you all the attention you want if you wait until I'm done here. Deal?"

Gunner barked and wagged his tail.

Loba chuckled and rubbed his head, standing back up and resuming her trek up the hill.

The pain of losing her parents will always haunt her, but little distractions always helped her heal from the memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Means creeper
> 
> K9, who's name will most likely change when I flesh her out a little better, is actually my first Apex Legends oc, but I never wrote or drew anything for her because I never made anything up outside of her having an attack dog.
> 
> My logic with her was that she's like the opposite of Crypto, where instead of sitting back and watching the area, she's the first one in a fight because Gunner knows exactly where the enemies are. I can't decide whether she'd be a better assault or recon type, so for now she kinda just... exists.
> 
> ALSO, Gunner is based off of a pair of real life dogs I know, both of whom are my boyfriend's. One really liked head pats while the other is an absolute brat that demands attention at all times. Both had such soft fur ;u;


	9. Weapon

"You picked a sentinel over a triple take? Man, you're more lame than I thought."

"What's wrong with the Sentinel?"

"It's so  _slow_ , it takes three years to reload when you can just use a triple take like a long range shotgun."

" _Naleul pandan hajima._ If you sat still long enough to aim then maybe you would appreciate using one."

Octane laughed out loud.

"Do you know who you're talking to,  _amigo?_ "

"Yes, unfortunately."

Crypto's team had been walking for maybe an hour or so, where they eventually made it to the outskirts of The Cage. Caustic had been uncharacteristically quiet; something Crypto didn't take much of a liking to, but Octane was making that a difficult thought to dwell on.

"I bet you won't even use that this match.  _Ellos te dispararán antes de que puedas._ "

"I have no idea what you said but I will take offense to it anyway."

Octane was a good few feet ahead of him, unable to to stop bouncing around and  _talking_ _._ He didn't seem fond of running off on his own again, but Crypto almost wished he would. That way he'd be able to walk in peace.

Well, as peaceful as it got with the sociopath.

"I'm going to have a look around. Can you wait for just a few moments until I'm done?" Crypto didn't actually wait for a response before tossing Hack out, opening his controller device and flying him over to the giant metal building to search around.

For the first few moments, there didn't appear to be anyone, not inside the bottom area. It wasn't until he flew Hack up to one of the pair of double doors where he heard something that sounded like a gun being reloaded inside.

"Are you done yet? Can I loot now? Great!"

" _Wait,_ " Crypto grabbed the back of Octane's vest just as he tried to run off, "I see an enemy over there."

" _Perfecto,_ all the more reason to go in guns blazing!" Octane tried to struggle free, but Crypto just pulled him back.

"No, this place is a death trap. We're not setting foot in there." Crypto pulled out his sentinel, "Throw an arc star at the doors."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Octane sighed dramatically, but listened anyway, pulling out the electric weapon and taking a moment to aim before flinging it out. The star didn't quite make it, digging into the metal just in front of the door, but it was close enough. The charged explosion was enough to blast it open.

Crypto looked through his optic, seeing the enemy look to the door in confusion and nearly drop his weapon in the process. He lined up his head with the reticle and pulled the trigger.

"Killed one." He said in the silence following echo of the shot, "Now we can loot."

He felt a smug sense of pride at Octane's silence as he walked off, but he didn't show it on his face. He didn't need to anyway. Unlike Octane, Crypto didn't need to brag about how good he was- he was just good.

Okay, maybe he needed to brag a little.

"Keep an eye out for enemies. I'll put them down too."

"Not if I get them first."

"You can't get anyone if they're killed before you reach them."

"Is that a challenge,  _amigo?_ "

Crypto turned back to look at him, reloading his weapon.

" _Ne,_ see if you can keep up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The arguments Octane makes in this chapter are a reflection of my boyfriend's, who's favorite sniper (and weapon in general) is the triple take. MY favorite is the sentinel, BECAUSE IT STRIKES FEAR IN THOSE WHO ARE HIT.
> 
> Also I just like the way it sounds.


	10. Truth

It was Techno's job to figure out the truth.

Being in the games made that fairly simple. Life or death situations generally brought out the best and worst in everyone, and most times, secrets ended up being spilled.

She enjoyed being a spy. Digging up dirt for fun was always a hobby for her, so being offered a job to practically do the same thing was a massive plus.

It's just, usually she didn't have to get her hands so dirty when on the job.

She was used to killing people. Actually killing them, like shooting them with guns and they don't respawn. It never exactly got easier to handle, just easier to do, especially if she was sniping.

What she wasn't used to, was someone knowing who she was, and hunting her down during a game.

"You've fucked with the wrong man, you fucking bitch," Tech narrowly avoided a bullet in her skull when she ducked behind one of the crates at Salvage.

"I don't believe we've met before." She called over the crate. Heavy footsteps to her left alerted her to someone else approaching, and she started plotting her options for escape routes.

"Course you don't remember, cunt. To you I was just another sleazy arms dealer, huh? Just an easy target to turn in and get some quick cash."

She dared to peek around the crate, just a little, and _now_ she recognized his face.

"Jeremy? From Talos?" She ducked away when he shot at her again, "Sorry man, you gave someone a faulty weapon and they wanted you out of the game for good."

"So you ratted me out and took my stash. Doesn't sound like something a sorry person would do."

He was getting dangerously close, and now she could see that other guy peeking around the corner.

"Full offense, but telling complete strangers where your secret stash is in hopes of getting laid is not a very smart idea in the first place."

He was probably about to say something insulting in response, but just as he stepped into view, she kicked her foot out, straight for his shin, completely throwing him off his footing.

He pulled the trigger on his pistol in an attempt to shoot at her blind, but both of her hands wrapped around his gun and disarmed him easily. He flailed, but she was quick to maneuver a foot between his legs and twist them both around until he was between her and his teammate, who had just rounded the corner and started to spray bullets at them.

Five seconds later, the guy's gun clicked empty and the guy in her arms fell limp. She caught a glance of a look of horror on the guy's face before she shot him with her newly acquired pistol. Four bullets, one in the leg, two in the chest, and one in the head. He was down.

She dropped Jeremy, letting him crumple to the ground, and dusted the front of her jacket off, annoyed that a little bit of blood got on it.

"You got our third, Hound?" She asked through her transmitter. There was a bit of static, then a response.

"You fight well, _felagi._ Our third member will be able to return safely." The dropship sounded above. She brought a hand up to shield her eyes from the setting sun, and she could see it fly in and hover for a moment, before the back hatch opened to reveal their third teammate, in perfect health, ready to make his jump.

"Don't flatter me too much; I just take opportunities when I see them," She kneeled beside her kill and started searching his body, noticing but not reacting to its slow disappearance.* "You need anything? This guy didn't have much."

"Claim the spoils of your victory. I will search elsewhere for supplies."

"Yeah, well, my spoils are a couple of shield cells and a wingman... and- Ooo, a _skullpiercer._ This'll be fun." She didn't know why the guy didn't bother equipping that to his gun. Maybe he didn't have time? Well, that was his fault for trying to kill her before he was ready.

"Mind saving me something?" Their third said through the transmitter, and Techno heard him land beside her, "I kinda died so I'm empty."

"Next time don't die then," She nodded over to the other guy, "See if he's got something."

As he walked off, Techno turned one of Jeremy's arms over, the arm that would normally reveal his banner card if he had a third teammate alive to come get it. She distantly wondered what happened to whoever that was as she looked a little closer at a bracelet he was wearing. She recognized the insignia as his black market logo.

Poor guy. Even if she hadn't gotten involved in his life, he probably would've been found out anyway. He was an easy target. Definitely easy money.

Truth be told, she had no intentions of turning him in, or stealing all his money once he was caught, but that would've just meant another random criminal on the loose, or more money to the criminals that wanted him dealt with. So she killed two birds with one stone, telling her employers he must've caught wind of her and got rid of it before they came along.

She readjusted her glasses, looking over at the death tunnels that split through the mountain over by Market. There was already another squad going through there, but one quick look at all of their faces revealed they wouldn't be a problem to deal with.

Time to see what other truths she could find this match.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *When someone dies, their body remains either until their banner is picked up/timed out, after which their body teleports or whatever into the respawn chamber- whether they're still actually alive or not.


	11. Shield

Wattson was tired of being shielded as if she were a child.

She knew no one meant any harm with it. She was the youngest legend to ever join the games. She had a baby face, both a blessing and a curse, depending on how you looked at it. It didn't matter how smart she was, how well mannered she acted, and it especially didn't matter if she had just taken out an entire team in the ring. In everyone's eyes, she was the baby of the Apex Games, and she had to be shielded from all harm at all costs.

And that alone drove her insane.

"Stay here and don't move."

"Wait, I can help!"

"No, it's three against two right now and those are already bad odds. I grab her and we go. You don't move, that's an order!"

A smoke canister shot out and hit the back of the legend's head that was attempting to finish off Wraith, effectively throwing him off long enough for the smoke to envelope them both and for Wraith to slip away without being seen. Bangalore dashed out of their hiding spot, behind the giant double doors that opened into the Hydro Dam, and disappeared into the smoke. One of the other teammates was looking around frantically, trying to figure out where the smoke came from and where exactly Bangalore went. The third was nowhere to be seen.

Wattson balled her fists and pressed her knuckles against the wall, watching the smoke intently and trying not to let herself be seen. She hated waiting. She hated being left behind.

She hated not being seen as  _reliable._

"Got her, on my way back. Lay low, I gotcha." Wattson could hear them shuffle through her transmitter, as well as the sound of Wraith's wet sounding cough. She didn't get a good look at it, but Wattson was sure she'd seen blood leaking from her side before Bangalore shot out her smoke.

One of the teammates shouted something, it was their third one Wattson was sure, but she had no idea what they may have said.

She felt she could guess a moment later when a bullet whizzed by, completely missing her, but she wasn't the target.

"Dammit!" Bangalore collapsed just as she made it out of the smoke, dropping Wraith in the process. She reached down to grab at her calf, where a fresh hole from a sniper bullet pierced its way through her, "I'm hit!"

"Two down, find their third!"

"Nat, get out of here!" Bangalore yelled through her transmitter, trying not give away her location. She pushed herself up and attempted to drag herself over to Wraith, who was beginning to look pale from the blood loss.

"I'm not leaving you!" Wattson wasn't actually sure if she could do that. The other team was already closing in around the two of them, eager to finish them off.

"NOW! Go before they spot you!" This time Bangalore  did look at her, just as the first team member made it up the stairs to them. She didn't like the wicked look that grew on his face when their eyes met.

"Found em! I'll take care of her!" He charged straight in her direction, leaving Wraith and a mortified looking Bangalore behind.

Wattson didn't hesitate to move. She had been in situations like these before, and they almost always ended the same every time.

There were nodes everywhere around the doors, and with a snap of her fingers, the first pair at the giant door flickered on, just as he charged in, and he was met with hundreds of volts coursing through his body, effectively slowing him to a near halt.

Her shotgun was already out, and with three easy shots from her Eva 8, he was down and silenced.

Two more. She peaked around the door, seeing their second member approaching Wraith, passed out now and unable to fight back. Bangalore was shouting profanity at him, trying to get him to redirect his attention to her, but he wasn't focused on her at all. He wanted his kill.

That greed was going to be his downfall.

Wattson switched to her second weapon, a sentinel, and lined up her shot with his head.

Just as she pulled the trigger, a bullet grazed her shoulder, throwing her aim off and causing her to completely miss the shot.

She hissed at the pain, clutching her arm and ducking behind cover again and reevaluating her battle plan.

Another bullet sounded, followed by a shout from Bangalore and a ping from her transmitter, signifying that Wraith has been finished off and needs her banner to be picked up.

_Merde!_

She had to think fast. She couldn't throw any grenades for fear of hitting Bangalore, and with the third teammate most likely keeping an eye on her, she couldn't peek out again. She pulled a syringe out and pushed it into the arm that was hit, tossing over what to do in her head.

Maybe she really did need to run.

"I'll get their third, you finish her off!" Shouted the guy that killed Wraith.

Or maybe that was what they needed to  _think._

She pulled her fence down, bringing the node with her as she made a run for the back room to the left. The second teammate followed her, charging in without a second thought and ready to shoot her down.

Wattson flipped around, placing her final node down and snapping her fingers, and unanimously, every fence lit up the room, criss-crossing and zig-zagging and allowing for no escape without getting electrocuted. 

Which is exactly what happened to the man when he couldn't stop quickly enough.

The electricity caused him to yell out, unable to move from the two or three fences he had ended up walking through, and he collapsed to the ground, twitching from the currents running through his body. There was always a sense of pride for Wattson whenever she could trick someone into walking into her fences, but right now she didn't have time to rub it in.

She put a bullet through his head. Two down, one to go. She still hadn't seen where their third was, but when she glanced back out through the fences, she could see her coming up the stairs now, already focused on Bangalore.

This team seemed to lack teamwork. Another flaw Wattson could use to her advantage.

"Where's that big talk you had five minutes ago before I put a bullet in your leg, huh?" The third squad member said, cocking her gun and pointing it at Bangalore, "Don't tell me there was no bite to that bark."

"Maybe take me head on next time and you'll find out," The soldier bit back, fearless as ever. The woman smiled.

"I'll pass-"

Wattson's shot went clean through her head, and she was down instantly. Not dead, though. The flash of gold on her belt was probably the cause for that.

She ran out and slid next to Bangalore, immediately beginning to patch her up as the woman beside her tried to psyche herself back up. Luckily, she had a helmet, a good one at that, because her head appeared to be fine. Wattson had taken head shots before, so she knew how disorienting it was to try and walk them off. If she wasn't killed.

"I thought I told you to  _run_ _,_ soldier." Bangalore said, but Wattson could hear the smile in her voice.

"I'm tougher than I look," She chirped back sweetly, distantly noticing the third teammate pull out a syringe and stab it into her chest.

Once Bangalore was up and healing herself, Wattson went over to Wraith's body to pick up her banner, briefly checking through her bags to see if she had anything she may need immediately after dropping.

She looked over at the other woman, who was maybe halfway through attempting to get herself back up. She looked much less disoriented, and even glared in her direction. She already knew she had lost.

"I can't believe the three of us couldn't take out the one of you."

"I bet you're,  _shocked_ _,_ to have lost to the likes of me," Wattson giggled, walking over to her, "But look on the bright side..."

She aimed her gun at her head.

"You got beat by a legend."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I feel like Wattson gets treated like a fucking child a lot, especially based on how I see a lot of the Apex fandom treats her. "OMG SHE'S SO CUTE SHE'S BABY" yada yada. Trust me girl, I hate it too. Consider this chapter partially a vent about it.
> 
> \- This chapter is also slightly based on a game I had waaaay back in season 2, except it happened in Two Spines, when I got one of my very first squad wipes and LEMME TELL YOU! I was NOT expecting to make it out of that. Aggressive fencing as Wattson fucking saves lives... which is also why I'm incredibly upset at her nerf. Buff? Maybe if there were more ultimate accelerants around I'd consider it a buff.


	12. Ruins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting from here on I went from writing one chapter a day to taking about two or three days to finish each chapter, because I'm no longer alone in the house so I can't dedicate all of my time to just writing anymore. As of right now, I've got up to chapter 16 finished, and I'm halfway through 17.

Cage was compromised.

Another squad beat Bangalore's team there, and they nearly looted the place dry. It looked like it was recent too. Bangalore could still smell the gunpowder.

They redirected to Labs. Wraith didn't like the idea, but their options were slim, considering they were right on the edge of where the ring would be closing and it was likely re spawning her would have attracted attention. To be fair, Bangalore didn't like the place either. She generally avoided going inside because it gave her the creeps.

Wattson didn't seem to bothered by it though.

"You know wraith, I once saw a ghost here. I'll tell you about her one day."

Wraith rolled her eyes.

"Ghosts aren't real, Wattson. It's probably just your imagination." She sighed.

Small talk. An easy distraction, but it wouldn't last long. It was getting late, and with nowhere else close by to stay the night, they'd have to make do there.

"The ghost is real," Wattson gestured to the big pair of doors that led to the underground, "She attacked me, down in that lab."

"I told you, there's no such thing as-" Wraith caught herself, and Bangalore pretended she didn't see her glance her way, "Wait... We should... talk more about this later."

She didn't try to push her to talk. Backing strays into corners was never a smart idea, Bangalore knew. So she stayed silent, walked ahead of them so she didn't have to see the uncomfortable looks Wraith kept giving her.

Bangalore knew Wraith didn't trust the IMC. Well, she didn't trust anyone really, but the IMC was close to the top of her list. Bangalore couldn't blame her, or anyone who looked at her sideways for that matter. They always painted her with the same brush as the rest of the IMC, like they were some sort of hive mind.

She wasn't. They weren't. They were people too. They forget that.

Not every IMC soldier was fighting for the wrong reasons. Some of them were doing some good out there. That's what Bangalore liked to believe, at least.

She'd been to Labs before. In fact, back when it was first unearthed, she had done her snooping around. Never anything too deep. There wasn't much to see anyway. There were a few rooms off to the sides, as well as that one big room with the chair in the center. The place was in ruins, and it looked like a safety hazard to just stand in the ankle high waters with all the electrical wires loose and dangling. The place was always bustling with activity before, so she never looked further than the few computers and supplies that were right by the door- before either having to fight someone off or help out a teammate somewhere else.

Now, it was like a ghost town.

Wraith didn't stop at any of the rooms. She didn't stop in the room with the giant portal either. She kept walking, Wattson following close behind and Bangalore on their sixth. She went through the double doors off to the left, not bothering to wait for them as she sped through, only occasionally glancing around and grimacing at the screens and charts hanging from the walls.

Bangalore knew she had some history with the place. She never asked her directly, but contrary to popular belief, she was good at putting pieces together.

Wraith gave her another when they stepped out into Capacitor, and her eyes began to glow when they walked near one of the charge towers.

"I've felt this before..." She reached out toward it, but pulled her hand back, "These towers. I..."

Her eyes glowed even brighter before they closed and she brought a up to hold her head and let out a pained exertion. Wattson looked like she wanted to say something, but wasn't sure what.

Bangalore touched the screen that was meant for activating it, noticing that it was green and unused.

"Word on Gridiron was that these Charge Towers," She swiped some dust off of the screen, "Were meant to supply power to multiple planets one day."

"Guess we'll never know."

"They were used to power to power the island for their experiments..." Bangalore looked up to see Wraith, standing just on the edge of the platform, not daring to set foot on it, and she looked  _pissed._

She said something else, a little lower, but Bangalore didn't hear it. Wattson must have, though.

"It's over now," She said, touching Wraith's arm and giving Bangalore a reassuring look, "What happened here will never happen again. It's nothing more than ruins."

Wraith didn't look too hopeful about that.

For once, Bangalore agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I headcanon that Bangalore and Wraith both don't like the IMC, but Bangalore wanted them to keep doing their research for good while Wraith wanted them to just stop in general, so people like herself and people she probably experimented on would stop getting hurt.
> 
> This is another chapter where I put a teensy bit of myself into a Legend. I'm a military brat, and I've had chats with people who absolutely fucking despise our military and won't hear anything about the good side of it, because there's so much bad that it's impossible to look past.
> 
> Hey, I get it, I know, but like Bangalore says, we're not a fucking hive mind. I'm not gonna sit here and talk about pros and cons of the military, and I don't speak for everyone. I just personally really hate getting looked at sideways just because my dad was in the military. I also hate hearing how "good" of a person my dad was just because he fought for our country.
> 
> First impressions are always wrong. Always get to know someone before passing judgement.


	13. Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for missing yesterday. Updates are most likely gonna be on the slower side from now on, but I'll give ya two chapters for today!

Gibraltar liked to think of himself as a hero.

Not in a way where he wanted others to see him and instantly recognize. Well, scratch that. He wanted that, but not for the reason most people wanted that.

He wanted people to know he was there to save them. He wanted them to know that as long as he was there, they were safe; be it man, robot, or angry, bloodthirsty simulacrum.

"Getting shot!" Gibraltar turned just in time to see Revenant duck behind the supply bin he was looting. The simulacrum's eyes glowed an angry yellow as he looked at the bullet dents in his arm, snarling, "Someone's got a death wish."

"Oh boy, more friends are coming to kill us! There's another squad!"

Two other squads cramped in the tunnel with them, and Pathfinder was too far out of reach to go help.

As long as that first squad was still in the way, at least.

"Ey, put down one of your totems for us!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Rev's hands came out before him, seemingly pulling up the strange object that was his totem from the ground with his mind, clenching his fists to complete its creation.

"Let's enter the shadows," He put his hand on the totem, and the weird shadowy energy spiraled up his hand and wrapped around his body, engulfing it in the same substance that made up the shadows from way back during Halloween.

He darted out of cover, charging for the first place sound was coming from and Gibraltar swore he heard him snarling like some sort of animal.

He looked tentatively over at the totem.

Gibraltar never really liked using that thing. Yeah, being able to come back after getting shot was nice, but it always left a sort of... gaping feeling inside of him. Revenant always joked about it not corrupting you much. He wondered how much truth there was to that.

The most likely weren't gonna make it out of this without that though.

He placed his hand on the totem and let it do its deed.

Dark shadowy energy took him over instantly. It was like putting on a giant coat, except instead of it making you feel warm, it just felt cold. And empty. Guess that was what standing in shadows felt like.

His gun shield came up as he pulled out his Spitfire. Revenant had the attention of the team that was on them, mostly because he already had one of them in his claws already. Gibraltar took his shot at one of them, gunning him down easily before he got the chance to attack.

The third teammate had a brief moment where he wasn't sure whether he should save his other teammate from Gibraltar. That moment of hesitation left Revenant making the choice for him, by easily snapping his teammates neck with one hand and the other ending up through his chest.

Revenant turned to Gibraltar, dropping both of his kills and eyeing the downed one just a few feet from him.

"You gonna finish that?" He asked, his voice distorted from his shadow form and clearly irritated he couldn't get the whole team for himself.

" _That_ is a person, bruh," Gibraltar put a bullet in the guy's head, officially finishing him off. Revenant's face didn't change, but it didn't have to, "Not someone's leftover meal."

"Speak for yourself, skinsuit. I'm gonna go cross a few more names off my list," He made his way toward Pathfinder's direction, before briefly stopping and turning back to look at him, eerie yellow eyes glowing with hate, " _Stay out of my way._ "

He went off, slinking against the wall and silently crawling his way over the team Pathfinder was defending himself against. Gibraltar let out a chuckle, a distorted, empty sounding chuckle, but a chuckle nonetheless. That was a better thank you than most of his other responses. Gibraltar wasn't picky with his gratitude.

"Ey Path, we're comin bruddah! Don't go dyin on us!" Gibraltar charged down the tunnel, on the lower level and below the wooden walkway that led to a building tucked away to his left, tanking the few bullets that managed to hit him in his back and shoulders before turning and bringing up his gun shield, shooting at the closest guy who was just above him.

He only managed to get a couple bullets in him before he took cover, leaving the other two for him to deal with. Pathfinder was somewhere on the roof, so they couldn't reach him without risk of getting shot, which left them distracted with trying to find a way to get to him. Gibraltar climbed the stairs, not too quietly, but he didn't need to, because the guy he snuck up on was so focused on Pathfinder that he didn't even notice he was getting shot until he flat on his face.

"One down!" He called through his transmitter. Two more to go now, and they could finally catch a break.

At least, he thought that, until suddenly his shadowy exterior disappeared, and that empty, cold feeling left his body. Revenant let out an animalistic snarl.

"My totem's been destroyed!" He roared. He heard someone scream from the other side of the building, followed by bullets, and the sound of something snapping and something wet bursting open. Gibraltar could see Revenant stand back up from where he was crouching, the bloodied head of one of the teammates clutched in his hand, "Whoever did that will know  _true suffering!_ "

When Gibraltar looked back at where the death totem was  _supposed_ to be, he could see yet another team already barreling out of that side tunnel and into full view. Normally, a new team approaching would mean Gibraltar was about to have a load of fun- and kills.

But he couldn't open the sky if they were stuck in a cave.

"Get ready! It's zipline time!" One of the stakes for Path's ziplines shot out, digging into the rocky ceiling right at the end of the tunnel. Pathfinder latched onto the zipline and sped toward the exit, shooting out a grapple that clutched Gibraltar snuggly on the chest, before pulling him along as well.

"Ey brah, we're pullin back now! You got no cover!" He said into his transmitter. The only response was a rough growl of acknowledgment, followed by shooting and the sound of metal scraping against metal.

Once they jumped off of the zipline and landed on top of the building at the end of the tunnel, Path went straight to getting his repairs done as Gibraltar looked back for any sign of Revenant. Surprisingly, he wasn't trying to take on the entire team by himself. He managed to climb up to the zipline and latch on without getting hit, but about halfway across, one of the them shot a single bullet.

And that bullet took him off the zipline faster than Gibraltar could blink.

Revenant swore when he hit the ground, tumbling into a metal heap just before the building. When the team saw that he'd been knocked, they charged straight for them, giving Gibraltar only a few seconds to act fast.

He slid off of the building, landing and rolling before throwing out his dome shield and sliding over to Revenant. He slapped his hand on the simulacrum's back and grabbed him by the back of his neck, hauling him to his feet in one easy movement.

"Don't go thinking I owe you anything, skinsuit," Rev growled, using an arm to knock his hand away once he was standing on his own. Gibraltar let out a belly laugh as he pulled out his gun and aimed at the nearest enemy.

"Comin from you bruddah," He slapped him on the back again, earning himself yet another snarl, "That's downright polite."

Gibraltar never imagined himself saving a bloodthirsty simulacrum's life one day in the ring, but then again, there was a lot of things he never thought he'd be doing.

Guess that's just the kind of work expected out of heroes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Revenant's the meanest dude while Gibraltar is the nicest. Interactions between them are very interesting to explore for me.


	14. Rest

"Get up you lazy mutt!"

K9 shoved Gunner off of the crate he had attempted to peacefully snooze on, causing him to not so graciously land on his paws just beside her. He let out a whiney, growly bark at her, and she glared down at him.

"Don't sass me! We've got lookout till morning, so perk up." She opened the door out to the chilly night air, letting in a frigid breeze that made them shiver. Gunner yawned and stretched, but didn't protest much more outside of snorting in annoyance as he walked out.

"You know he can't understand you, right?" K9 had to resist the urge to roll her eyes  _again_ at Captain Obvious's statement.

"No shit, dickhead. Hasn't stopped me from talking to you either," She let the door shut behind her, but looked back in through the window, "Only difference is he follows orders better."

She walked away when the guy huffed, so she didn't get to see if he made a face or not. She didn't really care anyway. Honestly, anything the guy did she didn't really care about. First chance she got she was leaving him for dead.

It wasn't as dark out as she thought it'd be, probably because of the full moon. Out there, in the middle of The Farm, there weren't any trees blocking the sky, so she could see the stars. Loba was perched on the top of one of the silos, watching the forest North West of them. She was fiddling with the wolf on the end of her cane, letting one of her legs dangle off the edge and silently tap against its metal surface.

"Hey!" K9 called up to her, just loud enough for her to hear. She must've been lost in thought, because she jumped, just the slightest bit, but smiled when she looked down at her.

"Time for bed, my shift now."

"What a shame," She didn't know when it happened, but at some point Loba had tossed out her bracelet, and next thing she knew she appeared behind her in a flash of brilliant light. Gunner jumped from her sudden entrance, but immediately perked up as he sniffed at her, letting his tongue fall out when her hand immediately went to scratch at his head, "I was just starting to enjoy the view."

"Well, let's make it to tomorrow night and maybe it'll be just as nice."

"Sure thing, beautiful, wouldn't want bags showing up on camera," Loba made her way back to the building, making no effort to hide the sway in her hips as she ascended the stairs. K9 whistled at Gunner, short and high pitched, and he immediately trotted off, sniffing the ground and perking up his ears as he began his rounds on the area.

She didn't like the idea of leaving Loba alone with the guy. Gunner was a light enough sleeper to keep an eye on him for her, but with both of them out on night watch, all she could do was trust he wouldn't try something. She... partially, doubted that he would. They were in a game, after all. Anyone with a properly working head on their shoulders would know better than that. Not to mention he hadn't actually  done anything... yet. He just rubbed her in the very wrong direction, for a multitude of reasons.

"Bout time something nice to look at walked in." He said once the door shut behind Loba.

"Shut up and sleep before I knock you out myself."

K9 hoped she'd be able to get some rest. If that guy slacked, it was gonna be up to them to pull this game off themselves.

At least they both seemed to be on the same page. They were  _definitely_ dusting him the moment they got the chance. He'd better hope his final resting place would be somewhere inside of the ring.


	15. Skull

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S MY BIRTHDAY and who better to land on than my day one, LOIFELOINE.
> 
> I legit had no clue how to incorporate skull into this chapter so just... enjoy it for what it is. I had fun writing this one.

Lifeline shoved Mirage to the ground just before a bullet could go through his skull.

"'Notha squad! Get movin!" She shouted, rolling off of Mirage and making a break for Bunker's exit. Mirage followed after her, almost tripping over himself as he slid behind the door in order to avoid gunfire.

"What the  _fuck_ man! We just beat these guys!" Mirage pulled one of the few deathboxes in the room over to the door, making an improvised barricade out of it.

"They musta heard us!" Lifeline opened the other door to make a break for it, but Ranger came charging up the stairs and pushed her back in the room.

"There's another squad down there! Must've heard the shootin and came to finish us off!"

"God FUCKING dammit!"

Okay, don't panic. Stay calm. Stay calm stay calm stay calm.

"I told you this was a terrible idea!" Mirage nearly screeched, frantically searching through one of the other deathboxes, "Dammit, I can't find any fucking ammo!"

"It was supposed to be a quick in and out!" Ranger blocked the door with his body, just as one of the guys from the other team kicked at the door, "How was I s'posed to know there'd be a team here?"

"There's  _always_ a team here, THIS IS BUNKER!"

"I can FUCKING SEE THAT!"

"QUIT ya yappin an focus! We don' have time to argue!" Lifeline ran over to Ranger's door and helped him hold it shut, trying to ignore how  _fast_ her heart was beating in her ears. Shooting came from the first squad, causing the one at the door to shout and pull back behind the stairs.

Keep calm keep calm. Think think.

"They a full squad?" She asked. Someone shouted and a thermite went off closer to the team on Mirage's side.

"I saw three, what about those guys?" An arc star was thrown, but it missed its mark and hit the ground just in front of the stairs.

"Definitely two, but there might be someone else hidin 'round the corner." The arc star went off, nearly blowing the door up along with it, but they held it in place.

"So we're literally fucked both ways," Ranger's face was growing more frustrated by the second, "Y'all find anythin good in them deathboxes?"

"Couldn't check that one," Mirage nodded his head at the gold deathbox just out of his reach, "That guy had a wingman by the sound of it, so I'm hoping there's a skullpiercer and some ammo in there."

"Skullpiercer won' do much against six people."

"Not with that attitude."

"Save ya wit for when we  not  in here."

"I'M TRYING VERY HARD NOT TO FREAK OUT OKAY."

Two more arc stars were thrown, one went over the stairs, the other hit the door Mirage was at. He jumped away quick enough, but the door was blown off and the deathbox was sent flying in his direction, knocking him into the wall and sliding to the ground.

"FUCK!"

"Mirage!" Lifeline dove for him, sliding by his side and tossing Doc out to get to work. Someone had taken the opportunity to try charging into the room, and a couple of stray bullets managed to hit her and Mirage before the shield came up.

Lifeline hissed at the graze the bullet did on her arm, but ignored it in favor of pressing her hand against one of Mirage's wounds- a hole in his arm where one of the bullets actually went through and was now bleeding profusely. He winced at the pressure, but brought his own hand up to grab one of Doc's tubes and push it into his side.

"Witt's hit!" Lifeline shouted over the shooting. Ranger was still blocking the other door, but he had both of his pistols out, shooting the other guy who was still trying to get in. The rest of his squad was keeping the second team from making it up the stairs, but they were starting to push closer to the door. Soon enough they were going to make it all the way to the door, and Lifeline wasn't sure they'd be able to handle that sort of pressure without getting much chance to heal.

"Keep that door shut!" Lifeline pulled out thick padding of gauze and pressed it against the heavy bleeding in Mirage's arm, "And if ya can't keep it shut, keep em out!"

"Uuuh!" Another explosion happened outside, causing Ranger to have to readjust his footing after almost getting blown off. He pushed his hat back into place, eyes wide in either disbelief or sheer terror, or both, "Sure thing!"

"Keep yaself alive, Witt," She pushed herself to her feet, letting Doc finish helping him up as she quickly searched through the gold deathbox, hoping she could find  _something_ useful in there. She had run out of ammo for her peacekeeper in the last fight, and there was barely any left for her alternator. What she wouldn't give for repulsor rounds to come back right now.

That's when she came across the wingman with the skullpiercer and ammo Mirage brought up.

_Perfect._

She switched it out with the peacekeeper, dropping the empty gun without a second thought as she turned on the opened doorway, seeing another one of the squad members trying to make her way in.

She shot one bullet, straight through her skull. Her helmet kept it from actually penetrating her head, but the force was strong enough to knock her head back into the door frame, making her black out instantly.

Her teammate shouted something from behind her, and next thing Lifeline knew another one was charging in. She aimed for his legs this time, two bullets and he was screaming and dropping his gun as he fell to the ground. Their third was still nowhere to be found.

"NOW!" Lifeline had forgot about the team at the stairs for a second. She looked up just in time to see the entire other squad at the door, one of them rearing back with a thick looking bayonet at the end of their gun.

She didn't get the chance to say anything before the bayonet pierced through the glass, and right into his shoulder.

"FUCKIN SHIT!" The blade slid in and out of his shoulder easily, pushing his body away from the door just enough for one of them to slide a hand through the gap that was made. He tried to slam it back shut, but his body suddenly froze up, and next thing they knew he was falling face first on the ground.*

The door was kicked open, and the entire team came barreling in, guns blazing. Mirage was already up and trying to get his bearings, and he wasn't able to cloak himself quick enough to escape, so he went right back down, throwing out a few choice words as he caught grabbed at at whatever fresh bullet holes he could.

"Damn it!" Lifeline didn't have time to go and help Ranger, but Doc was still over by him, and the shield came right back up to block the rapidly oncoming spray of bullets. She had to think fast. The one who downed Ranger was already finishing him off, the other two were pushing through her shield, guns at the ready.

Guess this game was about to go downhill.

With literally no other option she could think of in the two seconds she had, she threw trying to aim out the window and slammed her gun against the side of one of their heads, just above and before the ear, and stunning him just for a few seconds. The other guy seemed thrown off at her bold move, and before he could do anything, she threw herself at him and shoved him against the wall.

He let out a grunt at the collision, trying to push her off and wrestle his gun into a more suitable position to shoot her. She was quicker though, her own wingman, with the skullpiercer attached, pointed at him just below his chin, and she pulled the trigger, looking away as she did so.

Blood spattered on most of her front and face just as their third killed off Ranger. With Doc's shield still in the way, neither of them could immediately go for each other, giving Lifeline a small opportunity to quickly try and reload her gun.

She heard someone else shoot, and for a moment she thought that  _another_ squad may have popped up, but then woman that stabbed Ranger ducked behind cover, and the guy she knocked out took a few bullets before his body went still. She completely forgot about the man in the other doorway, who was still very much alive, and unable to shoot at her because of the shield. He was still on the ground, bleeding profusely from his legs, but he had his gun aimed at the woman across the way who was trying to use the little amount of cover to shoot back at him from.

"Mirage, here!" Lifeline slid over to him, pulling the skullpiercer attachment off her wingman, "You're better with this thing than me!"

"I c-can't, I can- barely, f-feel- dammit!" Mirage was losing a lot of color in his face. She hadn't realized how much blood he lost. His eyes were beginning to close, "Hurts- It hurts t-to much,"

"C'mon Witt don' die on me yet," She lightly popped his cheek a couple times to get him to wake back up. She wasn't gonna have time to do anything to help him before the shield went down. She hastily dug through her bag, pulling out the first few syringes she saw and dumping them by his side.

"Use those, I'll buy ya some time," She reattached the skullpiercer, cocking the weapon just as the shield went down, and both of the other teammates' heads snapped in her direction.

She went for the bigger threat first. The woman at the door was already shooting at her, and by the time Lifeline could should she already had a couple of bullets in her leg. She bit back a scream as her shins practically shattered under her weight, and she hit the ground. The woman ducked back to reload, giving Lifeline the chance to shoot at the other guy, who had also tried shooting at her, but missed because of the angle he was at.

One easy shot through his skull, and he was dead. The other woman finished reloading, and she stepped back into view.

Only for another bullet to whiz straight through her chest, and next thing she knew, she was dead too.

"Oh thank god," Mirage sighed, and Lifeline let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding.

They both deflated, Mirage carelessly dropping his G-7 as he slumped further down the wall, Lifeline crossing her arms in front of her face so she could rest her head on them and catch her breath for a few seconds. Now that the adrenaline was losing its high, her body was starting to really feel what it had just went through, and she couldn't hold back the small groan that escaped her when she tried to reach for Ranger's banner.

Doc came to both of their aids, floating between them and sticking them both with his healing tubes. The healing was slow, but working. The pain was beginning to ebb away before it really started. Miraculously, nothing was broken. Well, nothing  _seemed_ broken. She didn't have the energy to really check.

"You know for the record, you handled that pretty well by yourself."

"Feels like I barely handled that at all."

Footsteps sounded outside, causing both of them to visibly flinch. Yet another person must have heard the shooting, and decided to finish them off now.

"Guys, I'm here! I'm here! You've gotta start telling me when you leave so I can keep up-!"

Mirage shot him just as he ran by the door. So clean and quick he dropped dead instantly. Once again it was silent, except for Doc's hovering and healing, and Lifeline pulling herself over to Ranger's body in order to grab his banner.

"Nice shot."

"Thanks... can I have that skullpiercer now?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Yet another oc, her bayonet's got a poison on it that paralyzes peeps for a few seconds. Well, if she were a game character it'd be a few seconds. In reality it's more like a few minutes.


	16. Growth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Randomizer landed on Caustic again, and I genuinely had no clue what to do so here's how I'd imagine these nerds would interact.

Caustic was growing a deep hatred for the rest of his team.

Octane was an understandable annoyance. He, in Caustic's eyes, was more of an insect than most of the other legends, because of the way he  _skittered_ around like one. He only stood still to take a moment to gather his surroundings, before he was off again and starting some sort of problem far off.

_Crypto_ seemed to find enjoyment in pestering him about anything he could.  _I bet Natalie would think otherwise. Wattson told me about this, she didn't tell you? Are you going to stop everyone you consider an insect from spending time with her? Good luck with Octane._

It was really beginning to get  on his nerves.

"My patience is growing thin with the two of you." He had said during their walk through Two Spines, where their destination at the bunker was just under a half hour away.

"That's a shame." They both responded, almost in unison. Crypto continued clicking away at his controller device on one side. Octane's legs were springing annoyingly on his other side, clearly he was incapable of  _walking_ and had to bounce or skip with every few steps.

" _Oye_ , gas man-"

"That is  _Doctor Caustic_ to you-"

"You ever actually have fun in your life? Like, growing up?" Octane resorted to turning and walking backwards, bouncing on his toes and making that springing sound even  _worse_.

"Why would you care about that?"

"I don't, but I also kinda wanna know. You're a bigger stick in the mud than Che and  _maquina de la muerte_ combined. They're at least  _fun_ to be around sometimes."

" _Doctor_ Caustic thinks he's above fun," Crypto jabbed, making Caustic audibly sigh.

"My interpretation at the idea of fun is being as far away from you two as possible."

" _BORING!_ C'mon, don't make me get annoying."

"More than you are now?"

"Did you have video games in your time? I like shooters. I could teach you how to play so you've got something to do with your hands besides  _choking_ people out."

"Nice choice of words,  _baegchi._ "

"Thanks, but I don't do pet names  _Cryppy._ "

Crypto rolls his eyes, scoffing, but otherwise remaining quiet. Octane's attention is still, surprisingly, focused on Caustic. He couldn't see his face, but he knew that skittering  insect wouldn't stop pestering him until he got what he wanted.

"I do not require the constant distraction of a simulated shooter in order to keep me from jumping off the nearest cliff..."

"Was that an insult? Should I be insulted?"

"... But I do have other means of entertainment," He had to pause in order to cough, clearing his throat before he continued, "Board games, such as chess."

" _Chess!?_ " Octane had to stop because he began to laugh obnoxiously loud, "How  _basic!_ "

"Don't you play chess?" Crypto asked, monotone.

"I don't  _play_ chess, I  _win_ chess. You still owe me."

" _You_ know how to play chess?" That, while he wouldn't admit it out loud, was much more more fascinating to Caustic than it should have been. The annoying little devil shrugged, "And  _win?_ "

"To be fair, I never took classes in the  art of _chess playing._ "

"Silence, Crypto, I have clearly overestimated your intellect."

Octane laughed again at the taken aback look that spread across Crypto's face, and Caustic allowed himself a smidgen of pride when he just returned to fiddling with his controller.

"But yeah, I can play. I bet I could beat you too, old man." Caustic caught the way his goggles flashed in the light, like that was supposed to reflect a glint in his eye.

"I  _highly_ doubt that," He found it difficult to believe that anyone as pesky and jumpy as  Octane was not only capable of sitting down, but  _winning_ a game as strategic as chess, against someone as (while he would also not admit this out loud) intelligent as that hacker, "But I accept your challenge."

Octane's bouncing picked up its pace as he turned around, going back to his original, uneven and sporadic rhythm, talking about how he was sent to those chess classes against his will and he only remembered how to play because the rules were so ingrained in his head he couldn't forget if he tried.

This was a very interesting growth in development for them as a team, in caustic's eyes at least. He didn't think there was an intelligent bone in that neanderthal's body- well, his actual body. He figured his legs were more complicated than whatever happened in his head.

Caustic wouldn't admit it, but he felt there was a small growth of hope for whatever future interactions they may have.

Very small, though, because the idiot started tossing a grenade around between his hands and nearly blew the team up when he carelessly dropped it at his feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Octane's parents definitely signed him up for a lot of classes, and one of them was definitely chess, and he definitely didn't forget how to play.  
> \- Crypto also definitely found out and his big head thought that because he's such a genius he'd win, and HE WAS DEVASTATED WHEN HE LOST.  
> \- Crypto's also actually not that great at chess. He's not exactly the best at figuring people out and guessing their next moves.
> 
> This is the last chapter I actually have completed, and I can't say when I'll have the next (or future) chapters out. Guess we'll have to see.


	17. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm SCREAMING this is the most productive I've been since I was FOURTEEN.
> 
> This chapter had me SO fucking stumped because I landed on Loba, and I was like FUCK. What do I DO?
> 
> So... yeah. That's why it sucks. Here's to hoping next chapter is better.

She moved. Often. Coming from a family of thieves meant home consisted of a few prized possessions, and a hell of a lot of money. Even after her parents were killed, she learned never to grow attached to anything, or anyone. Anything could be replaced, and for the right price, anyone could be bought. Foster care was no different. Adulthood was no different.

The Apex Games were no different.

"That staff of yours a family heirloom or something?"

"Something like that."

They had just made it to Two Spines, the edge where there was a building and a couple of destroyed vehicles with supply bins around them. So far, they'd managed to avoid running into anyone on their way there, but it was still morning, and there were still quite a few teams left. The ring had also already closed for the first round, with the second close incoming soon. The next team was bound to show up sooner or later, but for now, they were seeing what they could find in the area. Their third had, of course, wandered off, leaving most of the place for her and K9 for the taking.

If there was anything to take.

"Sucks you can't take guns straight outta someone else's hands. Otherwise I'd have snatched bozo's gun the moment he picked it up."

Loba let out a small laugh, still looking through the terribly sad selection of guns in her Black Market's inventory.

"Normally I _would_ be able to, but the heads thought that would be unfair, so they put some limitations on it before allowing me in the games." She let out a sigh, placing a hand on her hip and leaning most of her weight on one leg, "Can Gunner bring anything back?"

"Nope." K9 pulled out a brick of ammo and proceeded to load it into her recently acquired shotgun, "They put limitations on my dog too, otherwise he'd be wearing that purple shield instead of our third."

Loba laughed upon hearing that.

"I would admit I'd hate to try fighting a dog with a level three shield."

"Then good thing we're on the same team. Just because he likes you doesn't mean he won't get you on the field. That's what the last guy thought." She cocked her gun once she was finished reloading.

That got a chuckle out of her. The thought of a dog as sweet as Gunner suddenly turning on her was more than strange, but she also wasn't too surprised either. The last fight they got in she saw some poor guy lose more than his pride once he was done with him.

"For real though, this staff somethin from home or did the games give it to you to match your theme? There's no way your parents named you Loba and then got you a staff to match."

"Actually, you'd be surprised," When it seemed like K9 had finished searching through what little there was to find, she took hold of her staff and twirled it around before keeping a firm grasp on it with one hand, tapping at the the wolf's head with the other.

"This part was a gift from my parents," She dragged her finger down and tapped at the actual staff itself, "This was a... gift. From a friend."

K9 didn't need to know the details, and luckily she didn't seem very keen on learning them either. To some extent.

"You seem to have a lotta friends at home." She said, almost coyly, trying to act like she wasn't about to lead into something else, even though Loba knew that was exactly where she was going.

"I do," She said, uninterestedly, but playing along.

"Any of em... know about your profession at all?" Beating around the bush? Loba never liked doing that herself.

"Are you trying to ask if any of my friends are... aware of the gifts they've given me?"

"Straight to the point, okay. But yeah, that's what I'm askin." She seemed a little annoyed, or maybe it was a sudden sense of distrust. She couldn't blame her.

"Well, like I said, the staff was a gift," Loba lifted one of her hands to examine the red of her nails, before going to examine the silver sheen of her teleportation bracelet.

"This was borrowed, and eventually paid for... with more things I've borrowed." She said slyly, "It's amazing what sitting on stolen cash and goods can get you."

"It doesn't really get good loyalty though." K9 said back, crossing her arms, "You got any real friends?"

"Enough money can buy the best security in the world," Loba completely dodged that question, because it definitely wasn't for her to know, "And more can pay to get right past it."

K9 looked like she wanted to say something else, probably probe a little more, but that was when they heard the pattering of padded feet against the ground, and Gunner came barreling around the corner of a building, holding something in his mouth.

He charged straight over to K9, placing the object in her hand, which she looked at in slight confusion, but Loba recognized it instantly.

"That's a stim vial. We've got another team nearby, and they're probably more than eager to find us." She sighed, bringing a hand up to her ear, "You catch that, _cabeçudo?_ "

"Loud and clear hot-stuff." Said their third, making both of them roll their eyes.

On high alert, weapons at the ready and Gunner taking the lead, they made their way out of the small settlement and toward their next fight.

"Let's send these assholes back home crying."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations
> 
> \- Cabeçudo: "Meathead" or "Big-headed"


End file.
